don't bet on it!

Kevin kilbane insists Sunderland have to prove to the pundits they are wrong to write off the Black Cats' survival chances.

The struggling, bottom-placed Wearsiders went into today's game at fellow strugglers Fulham 1/16 second favourites - behind West Brom at 1/25 - to drop into the First Division.

Many pundits are already taking it as read the Black Cats will be relegated.

But Republic of Ireland international Kilbane believes Sunderland must try to think of the fact they have already been written off as a challenge.

He said: "It does seem everyone is against us.

"You try not to read too much into all the coverage but, when every time you switch on the TV the pundits are saying we have got a massive struggle ahead of us and a lot of them are tipping us to go down, then it is bound to have an effect.

"But we have to use that in our favour by proving wrong the people who are tipping us to go down.

"It seems we need to prove everybody wrong because 99 per cent of people seem to be against us."

After the Fulham game, Sunderland have another nine matches until the end of the season to earn the right to stay in the Premiership.

Kilbane claims the players must not start to doubt whether they can guarantee their top-flight status because, once an element of doubt creeps in, it begins to undermine Sunderland's already fragile confidence.

He said: "This has to be the start of our survival battle.

"We have got almost a quarter of the season to go and we have to try and treat it as though it was an August Saturday - a fresh start, where we go into each game full of confidence and believing we can win.

"We are lacking a bit of confidence but if we believe in ourselves we can get something out of the games."

NARSENE Wenger has urged his side to take full advantage of Manchester United's participation in tomorrow's Worthington Cup final by seizing an imposing eight-point lead in the title race.

Two hours before United face Liverpool in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Arsenal face Charlton at Highbury in the Premiership.

Wenger has no wish to swap places with Sir Alex Ferguson, believing the Reds virtually stumbled into the final of the competition after initially fielding weakened sides in the early rounds.

He said: "Firstly, you play a weakened team twice and go through.

"Then you're in the quarter-finals at home and you think you have 60,000 people there and can't field unknown players. Suddenly you are in the final.

"We have enough competitions to deal with - the championship, Champions League and FA Cup. For the squad we have that's quite enough.

"But tomorrow is a big incentive for us to extend our lead and show we've made a step forward in the championship.

"To be successful we have to keep our momentum going. These last five home games at Highbury are where the title will be won."